Female Palestinian Hunger Striker on Death's Door?

A Palestinian woman who has refused food for the past month to protest her imprisonment by Israel without formal charges is in grave danger of dying. Hanaa Yahya Shalabi lost 14 kilograms, her muscles are wasting and she is in excruciating pain.

A Palestinian woman who has refused food for the past month to protest her imprisonment by Israel without formal charges is in grave danger of dying, a medical rights group have said.

Hanaa Yahya Shalabi[2] lost 14 kilograms, her muscles are wasting and she is in excruciating pain, said Ran Cohen of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which has provided her a doctor.

She has taken only water since her arrest on February 16. Hanaa, on Wednesday, was admitted into the hospital. Ironically the same room she is in is that of Khader Adnan[3], a prisoner who made history by going on hunger-strike for 66 days until his release.

Hanaa, has been on hunger strike for 35 days. "Hanaa can die any moment," Hanaa's brother, Omar told Gulf News. "Israeli authorities have denied any of her family to visit her," he added.

Her father Yahya said his daughter was determined. "My daughter sticks to her words and promises. She has committed to do this for herself and for Palestine," he told Gulf News.

However, her condition unexpectedly deteriorated, and she was admitted to a hospital in Safad.

"After we sent her recent medical report the Israeli court promised to review the case and make a decision by Sunday," Mahmoud Hassan, Hanaa's lawyer told Gulf News. Dozens of prisoners have joined Hanaa's hunger strike in solidarity. "Israel is facing the heat over their practice of unlawful detentions," he said.